


shoreline

by orphan_account



Category: Gintama
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Friends to Lovers, Nonbinary Character, Other, kyubei's a mermaid and they saved tae, pretty heroic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-31
Updated: 2016-08-31
Packaged: 2018-08-12 03:30:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 507
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7918825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A young Shimura Tae meets a mermaid.</p>
            </blockquote>





	shoreline

**Author's Note:**

> crossposted from my writing blog with a few adjustments, enjoy!

i

* * *

“I—I’ve seen you before.” The mermaid utters quietly; they look embarrassed and guilty that Tae probably saw them, but she didn’t mind.

Mermaids are well known in folklore, but she never expected the creatures to be so stunning, and human-like.

“It's—I always love hearing you sing.” The mermaid murmurs, and Tae turns as bright as a tomato, brushing her stubborn hair back which still falls out of it’s clip.

“Ah, thank you.” Tae smiles warmly and the mermaid shields it’s blush by hiding in the waters, their eyes peeking out.

The eyes are probably the most beautiful Tae’s ever seen before and she looks off into the distance, she’s still laying on the huge rock, but if it weren’t for them Tae would’ve been dead.

 _Shinpachi,_ she thinks sadly. He must be worried sick that she’s not home yet. She knew she shouldn’t have gone out too far, but she got distracted while picking up seashells, and decided to go swimming a bit too far out—she got caught in a rough tide and was pulled underneath. 

When she thought she lost the fight to the current, something had held onto her, rescuing her from a terrible fate.

“Thank you for saving me, I really thought I was going to die,” Tae tries to hide the faint quiver in her voice.

“You wouldn’t have! I’m here to protect you!” The mermaid bursts out with reassurance, determination set in their eyes, and Tae looks at them, full of wonder.

“I’m sorry, but I have to go home soon.” Tae looks off to where the shore is; she feels the rock she’s sitting on starting to dig into her legs. The mermaid eyes her carefully and nods. “I’ll take you back.”

The mermaid grabs Tae by the hand and instructs her to do one thing. “Please close your eyes, and don’t open them.” Tae nods, holding their hand as tight as possible and breathes in a good amount of air shutting her eyes.

She feels the cool water envelop her, then immediately it falls away from her; she doesn’t feel the resistance or the pulling of the waves back and forth. It’s like she’s fast forwarding through time. Tae doesn’t know when they suddenly stopped moving until the mermaid suddenly speaks. “You’re here, you can open your eyes now.”

She opens her eyes and feels the sand sticking to her legs and she looks back at the mermaid, still in the ocean their hair sticking to their back, she eyes their dark blue fish tail curiously. Tae bites her lip and tries not to stare since it's rude, and looks them in the eyes. “Thank you, for everything.”

The mermaid blinks and then nods. “Till we meet again.”

Tae grips the hot sand and suddenly calls out to them before they descend back into the deep blue. “Wait! At least, let me know your name. I’m Shimura Tae and you?“

The mermaid smiles softly, with a far off look in their eye and says:

_“Kyubei.”_

* * *

fin

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading!


End file.
